Because 1913 is not available on the microfilm at the library, I went to the Nov. 27, 2003, issue of the Mancos Times.

"Now that the Denver and Rio Grand has cut of all Sunday passenger trains on the narrow gauge system, a counter-movement will soon be started. In fact, it is now underway that will soon bring the Gould system to a realization that it will be the loser for the crime.

"The turkey shoot that was given by Mr. Longenbaugh on Tuesday was well-attended. Steve Elkins got away with half a dozen turkeys. (My mother interviewed Walter Longenbaugh, and he had this to say, 'I was 17 when I left home to find work. I knew a man by the name of Albert Miller up Lost Canyon. I went to see him, and he told me to go on over to Mancos to the Hiebler-Hamlin Sawmill. I went there on the train and got a job marking lumber at the Graden Switch. Fred Hamblin was a large man, and he had a heart as big as he was. He was like a father to me. Later, in 1898, I hauled lumber from the small mill to the big one at Graden.

"'When I worked there for Hamblin I knew Emery Wagner, and Morris Decker real well. One of the waitresses was a young girl by the name of Lila Burnham.'"

Emery Wagner came to Mancos in 1894. He operated sawmills for years before working for the State Highway Department. He married Louise Roessler in 1905. The only child of theirs that I knew was Clare Bauer. Morris Decker was the first white child born in the area of Bluff, Utah. He was born in an overturned wagon to protect him and his mother from an April snowstorm. He and Maria Wheeler had 10 children. I knew John, Paul Wayne and Marjorie, who married Harry Halls.

Also from that issue of the Times:

"Get ready for Christmas. Our mammoth stock of holiday goods is now on display and selling rapidly. Remember to take a chance on five prizes that are worth nearly thirty dollars and a chance is free with each 50-cent purchase. George D. Woods, Prescription Druggist."

"Rose and Marchia Smith and Nancy Slade returned to Pagosa Junction today. No three better girls ever stepped into our town than they, and they have left some heavy hearts here."

I knew Rose and Marchia Smith. I don't know how we were related, but my mother called them Aunt Rose and Aunt Marchia.

"Frank and Edward Ptolemy, W. A. Miller and Granville Graybeal have been doing experimental work on the narrow Gauge group and are well pleased with the results. The ore body is from 2-4 feet in width, and Frank is satisfied that he has a body of good grade ore that has yet not been encountered in the East Mancos District."

Darrel Ellis is a longtime historian of the Mancos Valley. Email him at [email protected].